Eve Air Mobility will locate its first eVTOL aircraft production facility in the city of Taubaté, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, the company announced on July 20. Subject to local authorities’ final approval, parent company Embraer will build the plant within its existing plot of land in the city.
According to the company, the site benefits from a strategic logistical location, offering easy access via two highways and close proximity to a railroad. It also sits close to Embraer’s aircraft manufacturing headquarters in São José dos Campos and where Eve's engineering and human resources teams are based.
“When we began our search for a manufacturing location to build our eVTOL, we wanted to reimagine how the aircraft could be built using the latest technology and manufacturing processes, coupled with other aspects such as supply chain and logistics,” said Andre Stein, co-CEO of Eve. “Our objective is to offer safe and reliable products and services to the market and be highly competitive in manufacturing efficiency. The team was tasked with the opportunity to design an optimized assembly line that prioritizes safety, quality, efficiency, productivity, and sustainability.”
In May 2022, Eve entered a partnership with Porsche Consulting to define Eve’s eVTOL global manufacturing, supply chain, and logistics macro strategy. The two companies have since worked together to research manufacturing and innovation concepts and used their combined aeronautical and automotive expertise to design a concept of industrialization for Eve’s eVTOL aircraft.
“We are focused on achieving the highest quality standards in eVTOL manufacturing through increased knowledge and consideration of an innovative approach,” explained Alice Altissimo, Eve’s vice president of program management and operation. “Following extensive research on advanced manufacturing and innovation concepts for over a year, we are now prepared to establish our initial factory for eVTOL production. With confidence in our capabilities, we are equipped to efficiently scale the production volume sustainably to meet the demands of a growing market.”
Eve submitted the basis for type certification to Brazilian aviation safety regulator ANAC in March and plans to begin building its full-scale prototype for the four-passenger model this year. Program schedules call for Eve to start the flight test campaign in 2024, in time, it hopes, to gain type certification in 2026.
